Dehradun. The inaugural Research Methodology Course programme commenced in Doon University today with a welcome address by the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof VK Jain.

Background

This ten days long maiden Research Methodology Course, a combined enterprise of Doon University and Kumaon University, is a culmination among the state Universities that commenced some four years back when the faculties of both Universities completed a prestigious ICSSR Research Project that covered two Hill States of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. In that project, the Central University of Himachal Pradesh, at Dharmashala was the third partner University.

Encouraged by the successful culmination of that historic collaboration between the three Himalayan Universities, it was resolved that the Field Research Methodology, that had been successfully executed by a strong project team, led by Prof Navin Dhoundiyal, Prof Manoj Saxena and co-ordinated by the NTPC Chair Dr RS Tolia, of the Centre for Public Policy, would be converted into a module to be shared with scores of Research Scholars, who now remain in need of such practical implementation of the training that they receive. Later, the Centre for Public Policy, Doon University, secured the approval of its Academic Council to run this Research Methodology Course.

Operationalisation of CPP Organizational Architecture

Recently, the Centre using the opportunity provided by preparing the project ‘Safer and Sustainable Uttarakhand’, for funding under the recently launched National Mission on Himalayan Studies, also stabilized the Organisation Architecture of the Centre for Public Policy of Don University, after four long years of deliberation and experimentations. The earlier projects of ICSSR, already alluded to, as well as yet another Sociological Research project on the Rai Sikhs, in which the same Field Research tool was deployed, this time with the collaboration of the Anthropological Department of the Central Garhwal University, at Srinagar; also allowed the proposed architecture to suggest a key event, namely Support to PhD Research Scholars.

It may be noted, that only yesterday yet another stream of the new CPP architecture, initial steps have already been taken to set up a Sustainable Development Forum for Uttarakhand, yet another key activity that is being supported by the Centre for Public Policy, Doon University. This Forum is projected to fill a major gap of providing a Discussion Forum for the state of Uttarakhand, in matters of public policies and public issues, that are coming up almost every day now.

Researcher’s Support Group (RSG)

Thus, it is under theResearchers’ Support Group activity of the new CPP architecture that this maiden event has been organized. A project has been sanctioned by the ICSSR in which as many as 30 Ph D Research Scholars are to be trained by a trained team of Educationist professionals who would share with them a standard capsule of conducting scientific research for Social Science research themes. In this ten day Training Schedule a field visit, sharing of quantitative and qualitative methods of training, use of relevant softwares etc are to be shared with the registered PhD Scholars.

Even though it was an all-India training programme, where the entire training package is to be shared with the PhD Scholars, free of cost, the response has been simply overwhelming. Not only as against just 30 scholars to be admitted the seats were over-subscribed by as many as three times and the requests are still pouring in. Not only the registered research scholars have evinced interest but a large number of Doon and other Universities and Colleges’ faculty members have also evinced a very keen interest.

Policy-Makers also evince interest

Of no small consequence is the fact that not only the faculty members of various Universities and Colleges of the state have shown interest in this maiden Course, eminent civil servants like Mr NS Napalchyal, Chairman, Janjati Aayog and Mr N. Ravi Shankar, former Chief Secretary, have also decided to partake of this facility and have joined the Course, that bodes very well to the state and its imminent future. Incidentally, both senior civil servants a have also agreed to join the recently launched Sustainable Development Forum for Uttarakhand.

RMC Training Team

The RMC Training Team is led by eminent educationist Prof Vijaya Dhaoundiyal in collaboration with Prof Navin Dhoundiyal, both of SSJ Campus, Kumaon University, accompanied with Dr BM Harbola, an eminent Training Expert also the Registrars of Doon University, Dr Bhaskar and Dr Mamta, Ms Soni Tamta, Dr Sudhanshu Joshi, supported by the CPP staff of Ajay Bisht, Anamika Kaushik, Sony Khati. Some other professionals are also slated to take selected sessions, as the course progresses. A Field Visit to village and its related dimensions of quantitative research are the main highlight of this course, in which the participants receive hand-on experience of preparing questionnaires, village questionnaire preparation, use of primary and secondary data etc.

Introduction of such a maiden Research Methodology Course facilitated by eminent educationists cum trainers, stated Dr RS Tolia, the Course Director, while the rigor of Social Science Research would improve the research profile of our academic institutions the participating PhD Scholars would gain personally by a qualitative improvement in the final conclusion of their various PhD Theses as they would benefit immensely via facilitation received from such an eminent corpus of trainers, as provided through this Course. he concluded that the Centre proposes to conduct at least one Curse, in every quarter of the academic year, so that the vast gap that exists and is continuously increasing after the announcement of UGR Regulations of 2009. After the inaugural Course Team has set its goal at preparing a model Template of RMC suited to the present needs of research and ever growing complexities of policy-making, that is evidence based. Post demise of the Planning Commission the need for individual states developing their very own state policies have grown that have accentuated the need for such evidence based filed studies and research findings.

Good initiative, felt it to be distinct from the vast number of ‘Research Methodology’ courses that are being run by Colleges and Universities (incl. exclusively for reserved categories ) for just ‘ticking’. Hope the field connect was there in the course…… Keep it up.